The presidential election is just six weeks away and both candidates are on the road tirelessly campaigning to become the next president of the United States.
Last week, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris stopped in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia and Wisconsin for campaign events. Her ticket partner, Tim Walz, held a rally in North Carolina and made two stops in Georgia as well.
On the other side of the table, Republican candidate Donald Trump held a rally in Uniondale, New York on Wednesday and held a Town Hall event in Flint, Michigan on Tuesday. The same day that Trump was in Flint, Trump’s nominee for vice president, J.D Vance, held rallies in other parts of Michigan and Wisconsin.
Presidential campaigning is arguably one of the most common news stories in the media cycle during election season. Publications all across the world dedicate their coverage to the news surrounding each campaign and each stop they make across the country.
So, what better time to bring back our archives column and explore how a student publication has covered presidential campaigning?
The Into the Archives column was an idea I came up with last quarter, in line with the Clarion’s celebration of its 125th anniversary. I siphoned through the Clarion digitized archives located at the DU Special Collections to help showcase the great history of our newspaper, and I will continue to do so for the rest of this quarter.
September 27, 1960 (vol. 37, no. 2)
The 1960 presidential election pitted Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy against then Vice President Richard Nixon.
The Clarion published an article about a campaign stop Senator Kennedy made in downtown Denver at the Denver Civic Center in September 1960. The article gives statements from Kennedy’s speech, where he bashed both parties for being complacent in the Cold War and called for stronger action.
The reporter of the story apparently got to ask Kennedy a question and the senator gave a response vouching for voters to go with his party during the election.
“I ask you to share this message with your fellow University of Denver and friends who will be of voting age in the coming election. Naturally it is my hope that all of you will vote for the Democratic Party. To those of you who are satisfied with the world situation of today — satisfied with what is happening in Cuba, in the Congo, in India — I say give your support to another party. The Democratic Party is the one which has the answer of the voter with enthusiasm toward a better future world in which he must live,” Kennedy answered.
May 26, 1968 (vol. 72, no. 58)
The last edition published during the 1968 school year featured a front-page article about an appearance on campus from Nelson Rockefeller scheduled for that day. Rockefeller was a Republican presidential candidate and the governor of New York from 1959-1973.
Rockefeller was set to speak and answer questions in front of the Mary Reed Building (which was the library at the time) overlooking the Harper’s Humanities Garden. The article said 3,000 people were expected to attend his campaign speech.
But Rockefeller did not win the Republican party nomination, and lost to the eventual election winner, Richard Nixon. After his fourth term as governor ended, Rockefeller became the vice president for one term under Gerald Ford.
October 9, 2012 (vol. 119, no. 20)
It must not be forgotten that just three elections ago in 2012, DU played host to a presidential debate. Former President Barack Obama and Senator Mitt Romney debated at Magness Arena in front of students, faculty and community members for the first time during the election.
The Clarion published a special magazine edition six days after the events of the debate unfolded. The article above was written by the managing editor at the time and summarized the performances and main topics of the debate. Six other articles filled 12 pages of one of the most unique editions of the Clarion to ever be published.
There is so much to say about how the Clarion covered the historic event and that’s why a future installment of this column will be all about the 2012 debate coverage.
There are also so many articles and election stories that I could not include in this article. To look at the Clarion archives for yourself, visit the DU Special Collections website.
And on the same note of looking to the future, our current staff is in the early stages of bringing back a special magazine edition, sometime this school year. Be on the lookout for news about it and general updates about our publication on our Instagram page.
